Anabel stares long and hard at the projection; pictures of their newly recruited International Police Officers cover the wall from top to bottom. The hum of the projector, and the scribbling of her pen on a notepad were the only sources of sound Looker could pinpoint when he walked in. It takes him a second to decide when he should interrupt Anabel's trail of thought, but when she drags a hand across her face in frustration he knew it was time for a break.
"What seems to be the matter?" he asks from the back of the room with a chuckle, clearly knowing Anabel would not appreciate the interruption. She throws a tired glare, finding the action a waste of energy she didn't have in her current state. "Your boss is stumped and we're running out of time," she groans, turning her face away from him and back to the projection. A vague hand gesture catches his eye as he stops watching his boss and looks towards the task at hand.
"You've trained all these recruits," a pause. "Tell me, Looker. Who should we send on the mission to Alola?"
Looker lifts himself away from the wall and walks towards the front of the room. His footsteps and the rustle of his trenchcoat add a dimension of noise to the otherwise silent room. He approaches the computer and taps a key that automatically scrolls through all the candidates. Faces and words blur, and as Anabel gives him a curious gaze he presses another key.
He stops on the picture of a short black haired girl.
Anabel narrows her eyes at the picture before glancing over at her partner. "Negative. She's been out of the running. I may not work directly with the agents, but I hear rumors, and all rumors have a sense of truth to them, now don't they?" Anabel's voice was cold and stern. Years on the force would do that to someone, and with a mission this big at hand, Looker wouldn't even think twice of sending someone who wasn't prepared.
"Trust me on this."
A small sigh escapes Anabel's lips. "You know very well we cannot and should not send someone who can't hold their own in a battle."
"What's battling to someone who is literally what you're seeking for?," was his curt reply as he pulls open Moon's profile.
She looked young.
Younger than other recruits by a decade. But as the page loaded Anabel could see that the girl's experience surpassed her young appearance.
Fluent in four languages. Has lived in 6 of the 7 regions. Adaptable to foreign cultures. Highly ranked interpersonal skills. Great information retrieval techniques. Competent hand-to-hand combat training, - the list of went on and on.
Anabel shakes her head in disdain, her patience wearing thin. "This isn't a typical mission Looker. We're talking lives; both human and Pokemon at stake. We don't know what type of battles she'll be up against when it comes to these-beasts."
Looker clicks one more button, "then what about someone whose work before us was purely medical?"
Anabel's eyes widen, "what do you mean?"
"When I tell you to trust me. I mean trust me," Looker says with a smirk as he pulls up Moon's medical background. Anabel's eyes widen as she looks on, fully realizing that Moon truly was a good-no-the perfect candidate. "This mission goes beyond fighting what's causing havoc. You need someone to infiltrate the headquarters, and last time I checked the Aether Foundation was a Pokemon conservation," Looker states matter-of-factly.
"She could go in and out of the Foundation with little to no suspicion," Anabel says under her breath, but worry was still etched on her features. "Are the rumors true though?"
Looker's lips form a tight line-hoping that Moon's single shortcoming wouldn't be a dealbreaker.
"Yes."
Anabel stays silent, but years of partnership let Looker already know she was seeking an elaboration. "She doesn't like being the cause for Pokemon's pain," he replies, a cliche response as Anabel clicks her tongue in disdain.
"Emotions in this line of work will get you killed. Why did she join the force if she's so weak willed?"
Looker places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Like someone else I know...she got tired of seeing the damage."
"You're being sent on your first big mission. The background: Lusamine, the ex-President of the Aether Foundation, has been missing for two weeks. Mysteriously wormholes, corrupted Z-Crystals, and creatures called Ultra Beasts have been wreaking havoc on the islands ever since her disappearance. Rumor has it that when Lusamine held office there was an underground lab for unethical Pokemon experimentation. There may be a connection to all of this."
Moon lifts her eyes from the screen in her hand as she looks at her two supervisors.
"It is your job to infiltrate the company, find out who works for her or has any clues, find Lusamine and bring her back for questioning. Report back frequently," Looker adds nonchalantly, the duties continuing as if her life depended on it- and it did.
"Understood Detectives," Moon says with the utmost of confidence as Anabel hands her over a Pokedex case and a Pokeball.
"Your safety is always a priority," Anabel begins, "and I am aware of your... handicap, Agent."
Another nod escapes the rookie.
"With this being said Agent Sun will be your replacement in a moment's notice if you end up in a situation you cannot handle."
Moon opens her mouth to argue, to disagree, but a small shake of the head from Looker dissuades her.
"Good luck, Agent Moon."
"Ace your interview today. Report back. -L."
Short, sweet, and straight to the point. Moon takes a deep breath in as she squints up at the eye-sore of a white building; the bright Alolan sun reflecting off the surface truly made it seem like it was trying too hard to replicate a paradise it was named after. "Rotom, delete message," Moon commands as she hears the Pokemon hover next to her.
"You sure you wanna do that agent, zzt-zzt? What if you forget your mission, krzt?"
Moon narrows her eyes as she looks away from the building and right at the Pokemon. "Yes, Rotom," she says unamused as Rotom begins the process.
"Commencing deletion of super top secret message! KRRZT-ZZT!"
A frustrated sigh escapes the agent as she stares at the Pokemon blankly. This specific Rotom lived to sass her unlike the other Rotomdexes that acted like guides and mentors. And two hours into the mission she found that enough was enough.
"I need you to shut down until we're home, Rotom."
A shocked gasp leaves Rotom's mouth as he presses up against her face, tears displayed on his screen as he urged her to change her mind. "Agent, you need me! Zz," he begs, but with an exasperated sigh she pulls out his Pokeball and pushes the button soon leaving just her and the empty Pokedex casing in her hand. Another deep breath in, and another out was all Moon needed to refocus before she took her first steps through the sliding doors of the entrance. The soft click of her heels only added to the buzzing lobby. The white of the outside bled into the interior design and the only sign of vibrant Alolan colors was present in the scattered potted plants.
"Hello and welcome to the Aether Foundation, Home of Pokemon Conservation and Rehabilitation," Moon hears from beside her, her head turning almost immediately as a single male stood there with a bright smile plastered on his face. Moon looks at him with a scrutinizing stare as her gaze lands on his orange floral coat.
Correction, the plants and his outfit were the only signs of life in the pristine place.
She quickly switches her demeanor into the roll she was made out to play today: an interviewee, and as she extends her hand eagerly towards his she locks onto the name badge on his lapel. Hau, Melemele Kahuna
Kahuna.
Moon instantly perks up as she meets his eyes, their hands letting go almost immediately as he continued to beam at her. It would be a mistake to be caught staring for information, but to have it misconstrued for something else entirely? That would just be a disservice on her own observation skills. But luckily, the Kahuna didn't seem to take anything from her shy smile, and instead he just stood there as if waiting for her to tell him what to do .
"Hi um-," Moon pauses. "I'm here for an interview with a Branch Chief?"
Moon swore the boy couldn't smile even wider.
"You must be here for the open position! I'll lead the way," he eagerly announces as he begins to walk through a door, prompting Moon to follow suit. A rush of excitement filled Moon beyond just her facade. If the lobby was busy, the inside was that tenfold. Employees walked with a purpose, Pokemon could be seen relaxing, and she found herself in awe of the facilities all harbored in one building.
"Sorry if this is rude," Hau begins hesitantly as Moon looks away from the bustling location, "but you're not from Alola, correct?"
Moon laughs as the Kahuna visibly relaxes at her response, "what gave it away?"
"Your sweater. We're aware of the heat here," he replies hastily as they turn down another polished hallway.
"I'm from Kalos actually," Moon says simply, accepting the profile that had been created for her by Headquarters. A glimmer in his eyes appear as the region's name leaves her lips, "really? D'où?"
"De Vaniville et vous?" Moon says with a slight head tilt, her eyes slightly wider to portray the innocence and excitement of hearing one's native tongue. She didn't expect anyone to speak French here, but when he doesn't respond and only nervously scratches the back of his neck Moon confirms that French would not be a language she would be needing in Alola.
"That was well...um...the extent of my French," he awkwardly states before stopping in place and points towards two large white and gold embellished doors. "I have no idea what you just said, and as much as I want to keep this conversation going, you dear interviewee, are now at your destination."
Moon gives him one final nod as she looks towards her next stop. "Thank you, really. It's nice to know this place has such kind employees." But the words seem to strike a nerve in Hau as he sticks out his tongue and makes a noise of disgust.
"And wear those dreary clothes? Nahhh. I don't work here, but I'll probably see you if you're ever in Melemele."
"Of course," Moon responds, mentally storing away the fact that the Kahuna could come in handy later. Moon watches him turns on his heel only to hesitate and look over his shoulder one last time.
"Good luck in there, you're going to need it."
Hau disappears around the corridor and her own facade fades into emotional nothingness.
A job interview can't be that hard, now could it?
Moon steps through the doors, halfway expecting a welcome or a greeting, but instead there's only silence. She walks past the office's foyer; taking in the organization, the cleanliness, and the tastefully embellished gold and green accents of the room, but a loud "ABSOLUTELY NOT," catches her attention and after a moment's pause she walks towards the sound.
There in an adjacent room was a desk with a large chair turned to face the wall.
But if there was ever a doubt the perpetrator of the yell was definitely seated there, it was long gone when his nasally voice spoke up once more. "Wicke, I am beyond the role of interviewing new staff, and while I do know we are short on veterinarians all of them have been horribly independent. "
He stops mid-sentence.
"You know I should bring this up with the President. This is your job as assistant branch chief, not mine. I don't do human resources."
A choking fit.
"What do you mean he's the who sent you to the conference?"
A pause.
"Unacceptable. If anything it should be me there. Actually I take that back it should be me in his role! He is not fit to be President, and this decision is proving my point."
Moon finds her lips twisting into a scowl as her hand hesitates to knock on the propped open door. Moon knew she wasn't here to make friends, but she at least hoped her 'fake' employers would be tolerable. She clears her throat, making her presence known and prompting the chair to turn to reveal a lanky, receding haired blonde man.
He doesn't even bother hiding his look of disgust.
"It seems it is time for me to do your job. Farewell."
Moon gives him a tight-lipped smile. "Pardon the intrusion. I can always step out if I'm interrupting, Sir."
Emphasis on the respect.
Moon was going to work his evident power issues to her advantage. And when his face cracks into a smirk, Moon knew she had him locked down.
"You're already here. Sit."
Moon obliges.
He reaches into a drawer and slaps a piece of paper on the desk. Moon's eyes followed the motion until she catches sight of the name placard: Faba, but a little to the left of his was one that read Wicke. Clearly, the rightful owner of the space.
He begins to speak and Moon gives him her full attention.
"We're going to make this quick because I don't have time for these lowly human resources assignments. I have your resume right here and I haven't read it."
Moon fights the urge to roll her eyes.
"We have had some recent changes in our company. Some of our professionals have left for other opportunities, if you could call it that, and we are supposedly in desperate need a new veterinarian. What brings you here and what can you give to us?," he asks with an unnerving grin.
But Moon was never one to show her nerves.
"I want to respect your time so I'll be just as fast. 4 years of veterinary experience. 3 years of pharmaceuticals. I follow directions, I get the job done, and why pay for two people when you can just pay me?"
Her curt response prompts Faba to flip over her resume. "You've been reading our job openings haven't you?" His eyes quickly skim the paperwork. "Why leave a hospital for Aether?"
Moon gives him the most sincere smile she could muster. She places a hand over her heart, feigning shock. "Why would I not want to leave? I've heard so much about this organization. How employees, like you, are the real structure and backbone of its success and progress. Hospitals are great, but a company with amazing leadership? Now that's where I want to be. "
Faba, beyond pleased with her praise, stands up his hand readily extended, "clearly, your old job was missing people like me. How soon can you start?"
"Tomorrow," Moon declares with a confident smile, as her hand meets his clammy one.